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No Impact Man: The Book

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February 15, 2007

There's Going to Be a Book!

Okay, it’s true that we will profit from this experiment in a small way—much
smaller than I’d like, believe me—because I’ve been contracted to write a book
on our no impact experiences by the publishers Farrar, Straus, Giroux (and
yeah, I’m totally psyched to be an FSG author).

By profession I’m a writer and by temperament a megalomaniac
(though I like to think a nice one). Until now, I’ve happily satisfied my
little family’s need for cash (nearly…ok, not even nearly) and my weak ego’s
need for recognition by writing history books.

My first book, Fingerprints:
The Origins of Crime Detection and The Murder Case That Launched Forensic
Science (Hyperion, 2001) intertwines the story of the first-ever murder
case solved by fingerprints with the story of the man, Henry Faulds, who first
suggested fingerprints as a method of crime scene identification, but who was
later cheated out of the credit.

My second book, Operation
Jedburgh: D-Day and America’s First Shadow War is about the 276 men who, as
part of the United States’s
first large-scale, behind-the-lines special operation, rallied the French
Resistance to attack the Germans and delay their convergence on Normandy.
I wrote it because my grandfather, Gerry Miller, was a big wig in the CIA and Operation Jedburgh was part of my
investigation into his early career. (And don’t judge a book by its cover: I’m
not pro-war and neither is the book!)

I’m proud of both those books, but throughout my career I’ve
wanted to have my work align with my political and personal values. That is,
I’ve wanted my writing to encourage us all to take care of each other (yes, I’m
soppy). Psychologists who are experts in happiness say that the highest
pinnacle when it comes to personal satisfaction is to use your highest skills
in pursuance of your most dearly held values.

So guess what? With this new contract to write No Impact Man I am officially happy. No Impact Man, the book, is my chance to
join the chorus of voices promoting some of the ideas about living and conservation that we all need to
hear. I like to think that the fact that my mercenary need to make a living and
my writer’s egomaniacal need for bylines line up with the higher of my motives
means that there is all the more energy heading in a good direction. One may
never get to erase one’s karma but one can use it for some sort of a useful
purpose.

Anyway, the book will come out some time in 2009 (assuming
the world, me and FSG all still exist). It will be printed and produced in
some, yet to be determined, sustainable way. And here is some information about
my new publishing home:

Farrar, Straus and Giroux was founded
in 1946 by Roger W. Straus. The firm is renowned for its international
list of literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children’s books.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux authors have won extraordinary acclaim over
the years, including numerous National Book Awards, Pulitzer Prizes,
and Nobel Prizes in literature.

Colin Beavan (that's me!) is now leading a conversation about finding a happy, helpful life at Colinbeavan.com. If you want to know how people are breaking out and and finding authentic, meaningful lives that help our world, check it out the blog here and sign up to join the conversation here.

Comments

There's Going to Be a Book!

Okay, it’s true that we will profit from this experiment in a small way—much
smaller than I’d like, believe me—because I’ve been contracted to write a book
on our no impact experiences by the publishers Farrar, Straus, Giroux (and
yeah, I’m totally psyched to be an FSG author).

By profession I’m a writer and by temperament a megalomaniac
(though I like to think a nice one). Until now, I’ve happily satisfied my
little family’s need for cash (nearly…ok, not even nearly) and my weak ego’s
need for recognition by writing history books.